Tesco appears to support the cull, and Sainsbury's M&S, Waitrose and the Co-op have adopted a more neutral position, while making it clear that they are not sourcing supplies from the pilot area in west Gloucestershire. Anti-cull activists have warned of boycotts and even vandalising supermarket cash machines.

At a fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton on Monday night, Heath launched a robust defence of the policy when he was asked by a representative of the League Against Cruel Sports whether he would reconsider the policy.

"This is something that fell into my in-tray and some say I should be revising the policy. I don't think I should because I am persuaded by the science I have looked at that the trials should go ahead. The trials are trials. They will tell whether the cull can be done in a safe, effective and humane way," he was reported as saying.

Broadcaster and food writer Clarissa Dickson Wright also sparked controversy on Monday when she suggested that Britons should eat badger meat. The former star of TV's Two Fat Ladies said she enjoyed eating the creatures – now a protected species – when she was younger, and believes people should consume the bodies of animals which are killed as a result of culling.

A Tesco spokesperson said: "Animal welfare is an important and sensitive issue for many of our customers and we take our responsibilities in this area very seriously. We also recognise the significant threat that bovine tuberculosis disease poses to our dairy farmers and their livelihoods. We are committed to supporting them through this challenging time and have no plans to stop sourcing from farmers in the affected areas. The cull policy and its implementation are a matter for government and the farming community to take forward."

Sainsbury's said in a statement: "We take animal welfare very seriously; it is a top priority for us and many of our customers. We recognise that the culling of any animal is a difficult subject. We are neither for, nor against, the cull. This is something that needs to be led by experts in this field. The government has made a decision, based on science, following a public process and it is not for us to second guess this".

A spokeswoman for M&S said:" There are no M&S milk pool suppliers in the pilot area. We understand the issues facing the farming industry and that a solution needs to be found. We are awaiting the results of the government trial."

Morrisons said: "Our position on the badger cull is that we will continue to take milk and livestock from farmers in the areas where the culling is due to take place.

Asda said: "We are aware of the debate on a badger cull, however as a retailer it is a matter we have never taken a view on, and we don't anticipate this changing. Nevertheless, we understand and acknowledge the genuinely held beliefs on both sides of the argument."

A Waitrose spokesman said: "We understand the strength of feeling on both sides of this debate but this is a government initiative and participation is entirely up to the discretion of farmers themselves."

The Co-Op said in a statement: "None of the farmers within The Co-operative Dairy Group are located in the proposed trial areas, however, as we do not operate a segregated milk supply chain, in common with other retailers a small proportion of our milk may have come from farms in the proposed trial areas."